I just realised that I didn't blog once during the month of July. Sure, I posted a bunch of book reviews--that's about the only posting I keep up to date--but that's it.

So much for blogging more often this year... o_O

July was super busy. My daughter had school holidays, hubby had annual leave, I was still on a writing hiatus, I celebrated my birthday, I read a lot, we got our tax stuff out of the way, and our hot water tank died.

I also tried to ignore the fact that it's still winter. I cannot wait until spring!

Anyway.

Last week, I actually started writing again. I'm working on the first draft of RECAST #5. That's right, my writing hiatus is officially over! It feels so good to be back in this familiar galaxy while exploring a different facet of the world. This time the main characters are a space pirate and a space princess. Although neither of them really live up to those labels. There will be some Leper and Y-123 revelations, as well as a few fairy tale references.

I started out slow, but now that I'm more than halfway through I've really found my groove. The story's constantly playing inside my head and so many surprises have popped up. I actually hit 32,260 words today. If I keep going at the pace of 4-5k/day I might (might) be able to reach The End by Friday next week. Hopefully.

I'm aiming for anywhere between 40-50k for this draft. I just want to get this story outta my head.

Taking the writing hiatus was a great idea. It ended up lasting about six weeks. I think that's the longest I've ever gone without writing, but after several disappointments on the publishing side of things, I really needed to recharge. I also needed to find the spark that drives me to write stories. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and remember why you do this in the first place. For me, writing is a compulsion. Something that I have no choice about. It makes me happy, helps me release the creative energy inside me, and allows me to tell stories.

I love to tell stories.

It's a shame that outside forces can affect your creativity sometimes, but I'm feeling good about this story. I'm having fun writing about these characters, and once I'm done with this draft I'll be one story away from finishing the RECAST series. That will make me sad when I get there, but I'm also excited about the prospect of creating new and different worlds.

I'm excited about writing again, and that makes me smile. :)

OMG. We've been watching two amazing TV shows this past week: DARK MATTER and KILLJOYS. We're absolutely loving them. I love the characters, their development, and just how high the stakes are--especially in Killjoys. We're nearly up to date on both, but man, they are AWESOME. Nowadays I have to admit that I enjoy TV shows a lot more than movies. Although we did go to watch ANT-MAN, and it rocked!

Well, that's about it. I thought it was about time that I posted a bit of an update.